Explain the margin change
Net margin improved by 4.2 percentage points. Ask the owner which pricing or work-mix changes to check against the existing records.
Owner: Business owner · Before the next review
Your numbers.
The story behind them.
Explore a sample dashboard and the kind of plain-English brief that helps you decide where to focus.
Illustrative Owner Report. Fictional business data, showing the dashboard, observations, and review agenda. Your measures and delivery schedule are agreed during setup.
Business overview
Sample data · September 2026Revenue$48,250↑ 12%vs. August 2026
Expenses$35,610↑ 6%vs. August 2026
Net profit$12,640↑ 33%vs. August 2026
Cash balance$27,900↑ 9%vs. August 2026
Revenue and expenses
RevenueExpenses
Net profit (monthly)
Your monthly brief
September 2026- Growth added $3,160 to profit
Revenue rose $5,150 while expenses rose $1,990. Net profit increased from $9,480 to $12,640; 61% of the additional revenue remained after the increase in expenses.
- The profit margin improved
Net margin rose from 22.0% to 26.2%, a 4.2 percentage-point improvement. Costs grew more slowly than revenue. These totals do not establish whether pricing, job mix, or efficiency caused the change.
- Cash needs a separate explanation
Cash increased $2,300, compared with $12,640 of net profit. The $10,340 difference needs a cash reconciliation; these totals alone cannot identify collections, asset purchases, borrowing, or owner withdrawals.
Two priorities. Clear follow-up.
Use the meeting to discuss the evidence, agree who will follow up, and revisit the actions next month.
Explain the cash movement
Ask the bookkeeper to reconcile the $10,340 difference between net profit and the change in cash. Review their explanation at the next meeting.
Owner: Bookkeeper · Before the next review
Illustrative actions, not findings about a real business. We track the follow-up; bookkeeping reconciliation and separate investigations remain outside the reporting plan.
Data check: This example contains six months of fictional totals, April–September. January–March and prior-year records are absent, so year-to-date and prior-year comparisons are not shown. Revenue and expenses reconcile to the sample profit; transaction-level causes and cash movements cannot be confirmed from these totals.
| Month | Revenue | Expenses | Net profit | Closing cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2026 | $39,000 | $32,100 | $6,900 | $21,400 |
| May 2026 | $41,000 | $31,500 | $9,500 | $23,200 |
| Jun 2026 | $39,800 | $32,500 | $7,300 | $22,500 |
| Jul 2026 | $41,500 | $32,440 | $9,060 | $24,400 |
| Aug 2026 | $43,100 | $33,620 | $9,480 | $25,600 |
| Sep 2026 | $48,250 | $35,610 | $12,640 | $27,900 |
All amounts are in USD. In this simplified sample, net profit = revenue − expenses. Cash is the closing balance, not net profit. Percentage changes are rounded. The charts and table show April–September; the period selector updates the summary and brief.
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